Finally Home
by Nukas
Summary: It's Mike's graduation day and his big brothers aren't present like they had promised.


**Title: Finally Home**

**Summary: It's Mike's graduation day and his big brothers aren't present like they had promised.**

**Version/s: 2k3/2k7, 2k18; [Human AU]**

**Author: Nukas (used to be on alternate account, "it'sjustmedicine")  
**

**Word Count: 5,014**

**Pages on Google Docs: 12**

**Technicalities Gutter: I don't own Skype, the TMNT franchise, or any other product mentioned in this fanfic. No warnings with the exception of a heart defect if you're too sensitive to brotherly fluff and light angst. I'm not gonna lie though, I feel that too.**

* * *

"You guys _are _coming, right?" Mike leaned in a bit closer to the laptop's screen, making a point by having his caramel brown right eye staring dead into the camera. His small bedroom seemed so much bigger over the Skype call.

Donny deadpanned at his computer's screen, hoping to reach his 18-year-old brother across the screen, "I keep telling you, you're going to strain your eyes that way." Donny didn't dare admit it, but he seriously missed his family. England was nice and all, with the friendly people and tea and -god yes did Donny love this part- _proper english being spoken_. There was also hardly any beach balls and he hasn't seen a cat-sized rat or a hand-sized spider running and/or crawling around his apartment yet, so things were good. But he also missed those midnight talks and improvised sports. The roughhousing and having someone surprise hug him when he got too absorbed in his work. All the little things made him homesick.

"Lay off'a the kid, Don," Raph started, his amber eyes shining with amusement at their youngest brother's annoyed expression, "he's gettin' so old, he might be blind soon anyways." Raph ran a hand through his dark brown hair, grinning smugly. Their youngest didn't like being regarded as the "baby", even though he was. Donny's chocolate brown eyes could barely be seen from behind his hands as he chuckled, his long, brown hair getting in his face. He stop chuckling a bit and used the scrunchie on his wrist to tie it back with practiced habit. Leo even started laughing a bit.

"Yeah, yeah, you three keep laughing. At least _I'm_ not gonna be _26_ this year!" Leo stopped for a minute, his cedar brown, almond-shaped eyes narrowing at their youngest for a moment. It got quiet and tense as Leo held the death stare. Mike scooted over on his bed a little, about to tell him it was just a joke, only for Leo to burst out laughing. Raph blinked before joining him as well. Donny just shook his head in disappointment, feeling slightly old himself. He was _21_; it seemed like just yesterday he was 15.

"Alright, alright," Leo calmed himself down, being reduced to a chuckling man-child, "listen, we'll be there, bud. None of us would miss it for the world, right, boys?" Raph, still laughing a bit, nodded in unison with Donny. Leo tousled his almost-black hair slightly, despite it being short and naturally perfect, then stood from his desk chair in his dorm in Massachusetts. This was going to be his last year of schooling before finally becoming an attorney. Their childhood had been lopsided bandages on stupidly scraped knees and lukewarm microwave dinners. Secretly taking wine and sake from their hardly home father's alcohol cabinet and accidentally dragging the next brother into trying all their dumb urges too. Casts they couldn't but somehow managed to afford on arms and legs from useless but prideful dares. Horrible relationship advice and learning how to tie a tie from a YouTube video together as they crowded in their small bathroom's sink mirror and doing each other's messy hair. Leo missed those times. Seeing what his little brother's have grown into, he can honestly say he's proud. He's going to buy his brothers the world when he finally lands his first paycheck as a lawyer. He'll spoil them rotten; he knows he will. That _could_ be a problem, but he quietly decided to ignore the consequences of his actions.

"Yeah, we'll even be there a day early so we can help you get ready for your big day. Don't fuss, little brother; we have this whole thing covered." Donny said dramatically, as ever the theatre geek, and adjusted his super-computer's monitor a bit.

"Is Dad gonna be able to come? He feelin' well enough, Mike?" Raph's face was softer than it had been earlier, awkwardly un-doing the single diamond earring in his left ear from Donny. He carefully held it, so the part that secures the earring wouldn't get lost, and got off the couch in his shared apartment to put it on his dresser like always. He was in Ohio, studying auto mechanics and business at the University of Northwestern. He planned on opening his own mechanic shop with Casey, his roommate. Raph knew everyone thought they were dating, or screwing around at least, but neither of them had even _hinted _at any romantic feelings. His brothers constantly brought up his middle school friend as his 'secret boyfriend'. Raph was _never _going to admit his feelings for Case. To him, it would be weird. Raph couldn't see it working. They were better off as friends, even if it hurts a little each day. Raph wasn't a homophobe; his own little brother has a boyfriend that he's cool with. Their..._chemistry_ for some reason didn't _click_.

Mike shrugged slightly, the mood between the four of them deflating instantly, "No, he's uh…" he trailed off, making Raph sigh softly.

"Mike…"

"...he's not doing so well, guys. He's always in pain, he falls a lot…"

"...buddy…" Leo tried too, seeing the tears forming in Mike's eyes.

"...he zones out a lot an' he doesn't always remember a lotta what I tell 'im-"

"_Miguel_," Donny began, his voice a bit louder than Raph or Leo's, "it's okay. We understand, bud. When you go off to college, one of us will take him in. Don't worry about all this, okay? We'll handle it."

Mike nodded tearfully, then jumped when a timer went off over someone's phone in the background.

"Huh, time goes by fast," Leo murmured, taking his phone from besides his laptop on the desk, "look, Mikey, don't worry. We'll handle it, just be there for him until we arrive, m'kay? Focus on graduation and your friends and everything else you've got going on, bud. We'll all be there by Wednesday, okay? Right, Donny?" Donny nodded, adjusted his thin glasses, then cleared his throat lightly.

"Right, just gotta get over the North Atlantic." He said in a joking tone to try and lighten the mood, but he failed. Leo started coughing roughly then, making Raph raise an eyebrow.

"What's up with yer coughing, bro?"

"I'm fine, Raph. Just a little bug going around the school." Leo lied, coughing harder into his black long sleeve.

"Leo, we talked _last week _and the week before and the week before and each time you had that same nasty cough. You ain't _fine_." Raph crossed his arms across his chest and Donny's concern was palpable through the screen.

"Leonardo, get that checked _out_. You shouldn't be coughing for weeks on _end_. That's not right."

"I will, I will. Would the both of you stop fussing? Look, let's all get some sleep and we can talk when we meet, deal?" Donny rolled his eyes, but nodded. Raph just death glared him.

"You're not gonna get..._really_ sick, like Dad, right?" Mike's voice was small and broke Leo's heart.

"No...no, not at all. I'm fine, Mike. Goodnight guys."

"'Night."

"Sleep tight, senior citizens."

"Screw you, Mike…'night." One by one they disconnected and went to bed in their respective homes.

* * *

"What'dya mean the flight got _cancelled_?!"

"I mean; the flight got_ -wait for it, you're really gonna love this one- _**CANCELLED**_._"

"For fuck's sake! Between this an'..._fuck_!" Raph yelled, nearly throwing his phone across the room.

"Calm down, meathead," Donny's tone was condescending yet benign, "there _has_ to be a way for you to get there before 5."

"No, Donny. What part of, 'Case got _hit_' do you not understand?! Shit, I can't believe I forgot all about the kid's day."

"Raph, your boyfriend-"

"_Not my boyfriend_…"

"~_boyfriend_~. Listen, my point is, you were busy dealing with a _near fracking death_. I think a graduation to more schooling and years of mental trauma, physical torture, and social hierarchy is not the top priority in your mind, dear brother 'o mine. If something happened to my Luther, I'd throw every other thought that isn't life-or-death out the window in favor of being there for him. So don't be a dummy, dummy." Donny's sardonic tone made Raph calm down a bit.

"Donny, what am I gonna do?," Raph couldn't believe he was here at 24-years-old, asking his 21-year-old brother to find him a solution because he was in panic mode, "It's gonna take me almost 9 hours to-"

"Airplane?"

"You got the money for a ticket? Plus, I don't think there's gonna be a flight at 10 p.m. at night that's in my price range."

"Good point."

"And then Leo's exam..._jesus_. Mike ain't gonna have no one at his graduation." Raph could practically sense Donny's sour frown over the phone. He wandered back into the room of elevators from the garage to get back to Casey's room. He listened to Donny list ideas and then list all the downsides and upsides to all his 'maybe' solutions. His brother's rambling and ranting kept him sane, believe it or not, and calmed him down a bit.

"...the only thing I can think of is calling him and just telling him straight out we won't be there, but we can celebrate with an afterparty or something. God, I feel bad. For all of our graduations, we had each other there _and_ father _and_ all of our friends. Dad's sick, we're stuck, and all our family friends are gonna show up confused and feeling sorry for-"

"Alright, Donny. I _get _it, okay? We're bad brothers." Raph mumbled softly, pushing open the door to Casey's room. He sat in a visitor's chair and crossed his free arm across his chest; it was his version of hugging himself and it made him feel protected.

"Raph-"

"Talk to ya later, Donny-boy."

* * *

Leo couldn't believe how stupid he was. How could he _forget_ his uniform bar exam? He got so caught up in Mike's graduation and he's been real sick lately. His mind's been foggy for a few days and now he has to take the exam that _gets him qualified for his dream job_. He downed at least four large cups of coffee and crammed the night before; something he's never really _done _before. Mike and Raph were the masters of barely scraping by. Leo was _prepared_, level-headed; _responsible_. He wasn't used to this last minute rush feeling; when he took his MLC he was _brilliant_; and of course, today, the biggest day in his academic and financial life, he was at his _worst_. All those dreams he promised his little brothers when they were kids and staring at the leaking cracks in their shitty apartment's ceiling have a devastatingly large chance of falling apart.

And now, he had to miss his little brother's graduation. Because he didn't _think_. He didn't plan ahead. '_Stupid, stupid, stupid'_, was all he could think when he started his testing. Why didn't he just _think_?

* * *

Mike paced in his cap and gown, his best friend, Renet, grabbed his shoulders.

"Stop doing that! You're making _me _anxious!" The blonde-haired girl's cheeks were as rosy as ever. If she was blushing, Mike would never know.

"They _promised _they'd show, Ren." Mike frowned, leaning against the wall in the field, where most of the seniors were lined up behind the 'pop-up' wooden stage, waiting to be brought up to the podium. All the seniors were getting ready to go up on that stage and get their diplomas; wave at their families and goof around and make stupid gestures as if their overly enthusastic and extremely proud family and friends were the only ones watching. Everyone was getting ready to let loose and have no regrets as they do stupid stunts on the stage because, unless you're good friends, you'll probably never see each other again.

"Relax; they might be showing up now. Just because they weren't here yesterday or this morning, doesn't mean they still can't show. I _love _your brothers, Michael; I know them. They wouldn't miss this for _anything_." Renet's voice oozed with confidence and energy. Mike nodded, accepting the comforting.

"Oh! There's Angel! Be right back!" Renet's curvy form rushed out of the line to hug (and possibly -_possibly_\- grope) her girlfriend. The lean black girl squeezed back, then pressed an intense kiss on her plush lips. Mike grinned a little, then it dropped when he realized the line was moving _surprisingly_ fast. He whistled his Renet and Angel back over so they wouldn't get kicked out of the line, letting them go in front of him.

Mike found himself being called up to the stage _way_ too early for his taste. His legs shook _badly_ and he nearly buckled in on himself. He climbed the creaking wooden steps and shakily shook the hand of his principle, receiving his diploma sadly. He looked to his left and searched the crowd.

There was April O'Neil, a family friend of theirs from when they were young. She'd always bring them hot food and fresh baked goods when their father was too busy working. She'd basically babysit them for free and taught Donny how to program and Mike himself how to cook and bake. At one point, April found herself being taught by Mike how to make a magnificent cake, or she'd have Donny pointing out some errors in her code sequences and strings.

Next to her was Karai Oruko and her husband, Charlie Chaplin who was often called just 'Chaplin'. Karai was holding the newest member of their clan; a 5-month-old little girl named 'Kishiko' who was currently napping from the looks of it. They also had an 8-year-old girl named 'Ichika'. She was sitting on Chaplin's lap, happily waving at him. She bounced energetically like a bright fire, beaming her 1,000 watt smile.

Mikey saw some other people next to them, but either didn't recognize them or didn't know them. He saw some of his friends from the soccer team cheering him on, shouting or mouthing '_flip, flip, flip'_. He told them he'd do a couple of flips for show on the stage at their last big game, but that was before his entire family ditched him. Mike figured it'd be a shame not to do it for the memory, so as he 'swaggered' off in the most laid-back, easy-going fashion he could muster to fake, he did a couple of flips. Even though he knew the flips' forms weren't all too great and his footwork had been sloppy, but at least he had done it. It was forced, but hey, at least he'd be remembered for something.

He walked off stage and went to sit with the other graduates. He overheard so much. Some girl apparently did this long ass speech and even the principal had to cut her off. A guy knows another guy who's sister tried cussing out the principal and her teachers on the stage, only to get escorted off. Someone was going on and on about how they were having this 'huge' party with their family (Even distant cousins and uncles?! _Wow aren't you a special snowflake_) and friends at their grandparents' fancy estate in the countryside.

Mike internally cheered when it was time to stand and throw the _goddamn, hot ass, cheap piece of crap_ hats in the polluted air and go to their loved ones. He slinked over to where April was, trying to hide the frown on his face and the tears in his eyes.

But April knew him too well.

"Oh, Mikey...I'm sure they tried to come, baby…" The red-headed woman hugged him tight, pressing a motherly kiss on his forehead. He gave a broken chuckle and felt Karai's hand on his shoulder. That's when the dam broke.

He cried quietly, burying himself into April.

"We've been so dis-istant since they all went off and…I just wanted them here..." Mike tried to speak but it came out hoarse and wrong. His voice kept cracking so he stayed silent and just snuggled into April more.

"Pucker up, buttercup; I caught it on video. I'll send it to all of your brothers?" Karai offered, with a slight hint of innocent mischief in her eyes. Mike wanted to tell her that wasn't enough. He wanted to tell her that it's different in person. He wanted to tell her that they should've been here because the three of them knew how hard he struggled academically with his ADHD and dyslexia. They _knew_ how difficult it was for him to pass, so they should've been here and been proud of him. That's what he wanted to tell Karai.

Instead, he sucked it up and nodded, then mumbled a jumbled '_thanks_'.

* * *

"Luther had some money saved up," Donny explained over the phone, gathering Raph's attention, "and said it's okay for me to send the money to you, Raphie. You can catch the next flight and be there before _nightfall_." Raph hummed softly, hearing the chime from his phone meaning something had been sent. He sighed heavily.

"You sure this is-"

"_Go see our baby brother before I beat the fuck out of you, you thick-skulled behemoth._"

"A'ight, a'ight, I'm goin', Donny!"

* * *

Mike opened the door to their old family home sadly. He pushed the stubborn, heavy thing so it would open wider. Their Dad had been able to upgrade them from a crappy apartment to a crappy house; but it had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, which was a lucky find for so cheap. The only problem was that it needed tons of TLC that they couldn't afford.

"Dad, I'm home!" He called, despite knowing that his father was bed-bound at this point.

He closed the door behind him and trudged up the stairs quietly. He wanted nothing more than to break down and cry; which is exactly what he was going to do. April, Karai, and Chaplin had offered to take him to a restaurant or something to enjoy his time, the entire soccer team was going to celebrate with some stolen liquor, weed, creative versions of lean, vape pens, and some pills (Jackie Mulins mentioned coke and heroin, but Mike had a feeling he was bluffing like usual to get some respect). Renet, Angel, some other mutual friends, and Woody (an old crush of Mike's from the awkward times of junior high) were seeing a movie and kept trying to pressure him into going for his own mental wellness. Woody one time voiced his concerns and said that he was going to go crazy hiding himself in his home, creating little comics in the dark alone and tending to his father day and night. When he had made his choice to stay home earlier _clear_, Renet told him that he used to be so happy and outgoing, and now he was a hermit. Mike ignored all this and refused all offers to go out. Right now, he just needed a good ole' cry.

So, he checked his father quickly, gave him his afternoon medications, and then went to his room to bury himself in his bed, listening to the sounds of rats scurrying in the walls absentmindedly.

* * *

Raph exited the cab as quickly as possible. He re-checked the (berating) text from April to make sure Mike _really_ stayed home on the day of his graduation, then rushed inside. His nostalgia hit him hard as he looked at the cracking ceiling and walls and heard the sounds of his steps on the misplaced wooden floor. He got his head back, however, and went back to the task at hand; his depressed little brother.

Raph got up the stairs quickly, adjusted his black mesh shirt out of nervous habit, and opened Mike's door.

"Yo, Mike?" Raph heard a _thump_, and opened the door fully to see a small bump caught in a messy blanket burrito on the floor. Raph smiled sadly, then began helping his brother get untangled. Once Mike was standing, Raph put a hand on his shoulder, relishing the physical contact.

"You...you didn't…" Mike whispered, rubbing his eyes because the redness in his eyes was already noticeable and some extra irritation wouldn't change much, "...you guys said…"

"I know," Raph started, voice heavy with remorse, "kid, some...things happened ever since Friday. Case got in a motorcycle accident an' Leo has this law exam; then the flight Don was supposed to get on was cancelled! You wouldn't believe…" Raph stopped himself. Mike wasn't completely paying attention; in fact, he was looking down and trembling quick a bit.

"Shit, Mike…" Raph mumbled, giving his brother a rare hug and feeling how much he was shaking as he leaned down to wrap his muscular arms around Mike's thick, short frame.

"...I wanted to make you guys _proud_...I wanted to show you what I did...I…" Raph squeezed him tighter.

"We've been proud of ya since you made that _stupidly_ great drawing on yer door when you were six," Raph gestured to his bedroom door that showed the reminisce of a childish drawing after too many cleaning products struggled to scrub it off before their father could come home, "we've been proud since ya smiled fer the first time," he lightly clapped Mike's (still baby) cheeks and chuckled at the face he made, "we've been proud of ya since yer birth, Mike. We _know_ what'cha've done. An' we're the proudest older brothers on the planet, I _swear_." Mike's bottom lip trembled and he started sobbing into his big brother's broad chest.

Everything over the past 3 years came crashing down over him. Ever since he was 15 and Donny left for medical biotechnology college, he's been taking care of their father on his own. Mike understood why Donny left; he wanted to help people like their father. But by doing so, he left him alone. In a way, Mike felt abandoned. He started staying in more and only joined soccer when he started gaining weight from eating as much as he did and living such a sedentary lifestyle. It took some kid snickering about it when he was changing in P.E. for him to realize he was getting a bit wider here and there. He was _so active _in middle school, both physically and socially. Soccer, basketball, baseball, art club, and even drama club since Donny used to be the president of it at their junior highschool, so he was automatically higher on the social hierarchy chain. He guessed that was just the stress of a sick and dying parent. He wanted to be there in case his father needed him, no matter what he had to miss out on. If he left the house for _a minute_, he could suffer a heart attack or finally succumb to his brain cancer or have a seizure or _something_.

And he spilled all this out in blubbers and crazy jargon that Raph understood due to years of experience. Just because he was away for awhile doesn't mean he's rusty.

* * *

Leo practically _burst _into the house with his suitcases. He saw what was to be expected; luggage from Donny and Luther. He basically threw both his suitcase and Raph's, as he was asked to go get his things for him, and then ran up the stairs. There were four doors; one was a master bedroom, another was a slowly-crumbling-apart bathroom, there was a shared bedroom with the one queen Leo remembered sharing with Donny, and then there was the other shared bedroom with a bunk that Raph and Mike had shared. He first entered the master bedroom that he knew his father was in.

Upon seeing his father, all hooked up to wires (courtesy of Donny and his ties in the medical field) and IVs and various other things, Leo turned tail. Last time he visited, their father didn't remember him. He kept asking for _'Tang Shen, Tang Shen, where is my beloved Shen…'_ brokenly, and then Leo had to solemnly explain that she was dead and deal with the heart breaking reaction, only to come back in later in the day to see his father mumbling to himself the same question over and over again.

He then entered the room he and Donny had shared at one point.

"Leo? Oh, finally!" Donny exclaimed happily, meeting him at the door. Luther, sometimes going by 'Leatherhead', smiled gently and came over. The 6'6 black man was an absolute monster, muscle-wise, but his intelligence met head on with Donny's. That's what sparked their love.

"Hello, my friend. What took you so long?" Luther held Donny from behind, making the genius blush.

Leo smiled crookedly, "Traffic. Also, Raph's stuff. Where's Mike?" Donny chuckled a little.

"Go see for yourself." Donny gestured across the hall. Leo cocked an eyebrow but turned and opened the door quietly.

There, snug between the wall and a strong, solid body, was their little brother. His curly brown hair was all up in Raph's face, but the hothead didn't seem to notice nor care in his dead sleep.

Leo smiled softly, looking at the content look on Mike's face.

"Peaceful, huh?" Donny whispered, leaning in the doorway.

"Yeah. I still can't believe we-"

"Hush, Leo. It's the past, we can't change it. But we _can_ rewatch all the Broadway Musicals and ancient horror movies we've got in the attic and find that entire collection of _The Real Housewives of New York City_ with all 211 episodes from that phase Raph and Mike were in. We can order all the take-out Mike desires and make him feel special. We can _talk and be brothers_ again for a couple of weeks without straining our eyes over a device and arguing about connection issues. We can come home for a little!" Donny whisper-yelled, making Leo smile a little more. He sighed and put an arm over Donny's shoulders.

"I like that idea, Don. Alright then, let's make ourselves at home."

* * *

Mike exhaled in comfort as he snuggled himself in between Raph and Leo, Donny sitting on the floor in front of them. Luther was in the kitchen cooking up a good dinner for Mike's graduation celebration, even though they were celebrating almost 2 days late.

"Comfy?" Raph scoffed playfully, letting Mike dig into his side.

"Hmm." He hummed contently. Donny chuckled and turned his face towards the bootleg copy of '_Dear Evan Hansen' _that Donny had secretly filmed when he and Mike had first seen the film. _`Sincerely, Me' _came on and Mike began humming to it with Donny. This felt right; it felt like home. Their favorite part came up and they laughed a little while they sang it.

Donny started, "_I gotta tell ya, life without ya has been hard-"_.

And then Mike would take up the background lyrics, "_Hard?"_.

"_Has been bad!_"

"_Bad?_"

"_Has been ROUGH!_"

"_Kinky!_"

"_And I miss talking about life and other stuff-_"

Then Leo would start too, "_Very specific_…"

"_Shut up!_ _I like my parents-_"

And Raph would join in on the corniness because the song is dangerously contagious, "_Who says that?_"

"_I love my parents, but each day's another fight, if I stop smoking drugs then everything might be alright~_" Donny enjoyed singing this part because it always made him feel different and 'out of character' so to speak. He remembered when he had first been singing this song at the top of his lungs when they got home from the play and Leo began searching his room for drugs.

"_Smoking drugs?_" Raph grinned, using his foot to shove Donny a bit.

"_Just fix it!_" Donny playfully snapped, pretending to be grumpy.

"_If I stop smoking crack-_"

"_Crack?!_" Leo mimicked a worried mother or one of those _really_ exaggerated nerd stereotypes and made his voice go as high as it could go. Mike was giggling so bad he was breathless. When Mike started cracking up, it made Donny fail to continue and start laughing as well. Raph and Leo practically caved in and collapsed on one another, trapping Mike in the middle of the two most dedicated martial artists of the family.

They hummed, for the most part, to the rest of the scene. Mike thought more about it; he'd take this anyday over some fancy afterparty, only for them to take off again. He'd rather have his brothers a hundred days late if this is what the result is. Mike didn't want to think about college or majors or about any of the rest of it. He knew he wanted to do something in art and comics, but New York is known for its performing arts as well as art in general. Mike knew he'd be going to school here. Someone has to be home 24/7 for their father.

If he was being honest, none of the money mattered to him. He didn't really care if Leo made it as this fancy lawyer or if Donny created the newest device to cure cancer. If that's what his brothers want, then Mike won't stop them, but no amount of money would make Mike happy if he never got to be with his brothers. If he had to go back to dealing with all of..._this_ on his own. Donny said he was going to head back by the end of the week and wrap up as well, then return. Raph would be coming in and out of Ohio; the same with Leo, who'd be coming from Massachusetts. As long as they promised to visit, like they had, Mike was fine. At least they were visiting.

And when they were done with school, they'd finally be home.


End file.
